Demand better

Streaming is now an integral part of how we access music, but who is the current pick of the pack? Ed Selley gets online to find out

- Ed Selley

LIKE A NUMBER of modern innovations, the familiarity of streaming masks just how extraordinary a concept it really is. For less than the price of a CD album a month (let alone, a vinyl release) you can have access to a significant chunk of the world’s recorded music. This content updates weekly with brand new releases and can be consumed on a medley of different devices. This was remarkable enough when the content being offered was compressed. Now, we are given the same breathtaking choice but with a significant proportion of it available in better-than-CD quality. Almost nothing else has had such a dramatic effect on our listening habits, be it making it easier to find new music to buy in a conventional way or completely replacing your existing physical media.

Never had it so good

The choice of service is as broad as ever and, for the second time, this is a test where all six services deliver lossless audio as a minimum. It is important to mention that most of them can also provide compressed content where convenience rather than quality is the order of the day, so you won’t be sacrificing any practicality either. Since we last ran this test, prices have come down too as providers apply the pressure on one another to win over subscribers, making some of these services incredible value for money.

Beyond sound quality, some other important features need to be judged here. Do you want the largest library or will a more specialized service work better for you? Will you be accessing your music on a computer or are you looking for integration with an existing hi-fi manufacturer? Do you simply want to stream content or is the option to buy appealing too? All of these shape the final decision on which of the digital wunderkinder is the one to beat.

Amazon

Music HD from £13/month